A+E Interactive » multiculturalhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei
Bay Area Arts and Entertainment BlogFri, 13 Feb 2015 21:27:43 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1Baby Beats & Beyond: impressions of Dan Zanes’ Holiday House Party World Premiere at Herbst Theatrehttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/11/30/baby-beats-beyond-impressions-of-dan-zanes-holiday-house-party-world-premiere-at-herbst-theatre/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/11/30/baby-beats-beyond-impressions-of-dan-zanes-holiday-house-party-world-premiere-at-herbst-theatre/#commentsSun, 30 Nov 2008 10:49:01 +0000Yoshi Katohttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=6451[photopress:DZ_bench_2008hires.jpg,full,pp_image] (l-r: Colin Brooks, Sonia de los Santos, Dan Zanes, Saskia Sunshine Lane, John Foti, Elena Moon Park; photo by Gala Narezo) I seem to always get a bit misty eyed at Dan Zanes concerts. The first time I saw… Continue Reading →]]>(l-r: Colin Brooks, Sonia de los Santos, Dan Zanes, Saskia Sunshine Lane, John Foti, Elena Moon Park; photo by Gala Narezo)
I seem to always get a bit misty eyed at Dan Zanes concerts. The first time I saw him and his Friends band perform, back in late March, I was touched by the encore song. "Sweet Rosyanne" not only closed the formal show but was what the group of musicians continued to play as they marched from the stage through the theater and into the lobby.
That they kept playing as others followed them out and then hung around to take pictures, sign autographs and just chat spoke volumes of their accessibility and general friendliness. I had another such tear-welling moment when I caught the world premiere of his new Holiday House Party revue Saturday at noon.
The morning started with a pleasant surprise. It was my first strictly duo outing for me and my niece Tarn, and as we approached Herbst Theatre we saw not people trying to sell excess tickets (as one might normally find) but rather a scene that resembled recess at the local elementary school. Children were playing on the metal sculpture outside of Herbst as parents looked on:
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Once we made our way in, Tarn was taken in by the gorgeousness of the theater's art deco decor. I, in turn, was taking in the set design. As promised, it reflected the look of a cozy, over-sized living room.
Pop and rock acts have tried this as a way to indicate to the audience that they were presenting an acoustic show or set within a show. But it works with Zanes, since his sincerity and easy style makes it seem natural that we audience members actually were guests in his living room.
Zanes entered the stage and performed "Welcome Table" unaccompanied save for his own electric guitar playing. Once he engaged with the audience and explained the premise of the revue (that a bunch of his musical friends were coming to his house for a party but that a snow storm would keep us all indoors â€” if they even made it), it was clear that we were in for a real live version of the televised specials hosted by Bing Crosby and Perry Como in the past and Pee Wee Herman and Stephen Colbert a bit more recently.
For several of the subsequent numbers, musicians would join Zanes by "coming in from the snow." First it was his band â€”Â Sonia de los Santos (vocals, guitars and mandolin); John Foti (accordion, saxophone, penny whistle, vocals and more); Elena Moon Park (violin, trumpet, vocals, ukulele and more); San Francisco native Saskia Sunshine Lane (double bass, vocals and more); and Colin Brooks (drums, vocals) â€”Â to perform "Hello," appropriately enough.
Basya Schechter came in next to perform the traditional "Ocho Kandelikas" but with a south-of-the-border twist. The guests kept rolling in â€”Â tap dancer Derick K. Grant and shadow puppeter/pick up vocalist-instrumentalist Julian Croach Crouch; buzuq player-vocalist Tareq Abboushi and Arabic percussionist Zafer Tawil; and the Villa-Lobos Brothers (Ernesto, Alberto and Luis) plus son jarocho dancer Claudia Valentina Montes.
A few familiar North American holiday songs were performed amidst Arabic, Mexican and Jewish numbers. I became particularly moved when I realized that all 15 participants on stage were engaged in Moon Park's singing of a Korean new year's song, which she described as "catchy, in the key of G, which is also catchy!" The sense of cultural inclusion, which Zanes really dove into on his latest, fully Spanish language album Â¡Nueva York!, was in full effect on this particular number.
There will be two more performances of the Holiday House Party at noon and 5 p.m. today before it heads slightly north to Davis and then to Seattle. I'd highly recommend taking your family or even a group of your fellow grown up friends, as it is truly a recommendable all ages â€” and all backgrounds â€” holiday experience. Tickets, which go for $25 and $35, should still be available here.]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/11/30/baby-beats-beyond-impressions-of-dan-zanes-holiday-house-party-world-premiere-at-herbst-theatre/feed/0Paris Hilton’s rebuttal makes a mockery of celeb issue and John McCainhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/08/06/paris-hiltons-rebuttal-makes-a-mockery-of-celeb-issue-and-john-mccain/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/08/06/paris-hiltons-rebuttal-makes-a-mockery-of-celeb-issue-and-john-mccain/#commentsWed, 06 Aug 2008 20:38:57 +0000Mario Sevillahttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=5477

Â It’s come to this folks: the race for president of our countryÂ is down to John McCain, Barack Obama and Paris Hilton. Â SocialiteÂ Paris Hilton fired back at Republican presidential candidate John McCain in a spoof campaign ad.Â Â “Hey… Continue Reading →

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It's come to this folks: the race for president of our countryÂ is down to John McCain, Barack Obama and Paris Hilton.

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SocialiteÂ Paris Hilton fired back at Republican presidential candidate John McCain in a spoof campaign ad.Â

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"Hey America, I'm Paris Hilton and I'm a celebrity, too. Only I'm not from the olden days and I'm not promising change like that other guy. I'm just hot," Hilton says while sunbathing in a leopard-print bikini and heels.Â Watch video...

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In the video, Hilton doesn't pretend to have acute political awareness or any agendas.Â On the contraryâ€¦Hilton exaggerates her talents (eh, strengths -- ugh,Â you know what I mean),Â poachesÂ ideasÂ from herÂ election rivals to formÂ an energy policy andÂ tells viewers: "I'll see you at the debate b*****es."

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I might be jumping on a limb but this could be Hilton's most important and finest role ever.Hilton's spoof comesÂ almost a weekÂ after McCain launched a campaign ad (watch video)Â comparing Democratic presidential candidate Obama to Hilton and Britney Spears.

The hotel heiress is usually on the receiving end of nasty jokes and flak mostly related to herÂ highly-publicized sex tape scandal and lackluster acting career.

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In 2004, Hilton was ridiculed after it was learnedÂ that she didn'tÂ cast aÂ vote despite appearing in severalÂ "Vote or Die" ads.Â Â SomeÂ bloggers critical of her faux pas asked why she continued living.

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The celebrity issue has become a centerpieceÂ topic on many morning talk shows.Â Hilton's fans will likely appreciate the leggy blonde's mockery of this debate.

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Hilton'sÂ videoÂ has been viewedÂ more thanÂ 3 millionÂ times sinceÂ itÂ was posted at www.funnyordie.comÂ yesterday.

What are they smoking? That was our initial reaction on hearing a report of a Cheech and Chong reunion. The idea seemed as plausible as Paul and Ringo teaming up with holographic stand-ins for John and George on a tour-ific… Continue Reading →

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That was our initial reaction on hearing a report of a Cheech and Chong reunion. The idea seemed as plausible as Paul and Ringo teaming up with holographic stand-ins for John and George on a tour-ific jaunt down memory lane with the former Beatles.
But faster than you can fire up a comedy crowd's imagination, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong have indeed settled their differences. They will hit the road and perform in San Jose on Nov. 30.Â (More details to come.) On Wednesday, the pair will discuss the reunion at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, the club where their joint venture caught on in the early '70s.
I was surprised to hear the news because when Chong spoke to me inÂ 2005, he said Marin had rejected the idea of a reunion. "He considers himself an actor," Chong said, "someone above the comedy. He wouldn't do the characters and he won't grow his mustache back."Â
Marin and Chong engaged in a nasty hissing match in print back then. After Marin appearedÂ in a Target store TV commercial, Chong called his former partner a "professional Mexican" and a "sellout." Marin responded in the New York Daily News: "Gramps is a little old. It's so sad when stoners get to the AARP age, you know? Who knows what's on Tommy's mind! It's theÂ Alzheimer'sÂ age."
Apparently, all that bad blood has been forgotten.]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/07/29/cheech-and-chong-reconcile-and-plan-to-visit-san-jose/feed/10Ashland: a mini-theater review of “The Clay Cart”http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/06/20/ashland-a-mini-theater-review-of-the-clay-cart/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/06/20/ashland-a-mini-theater-review-of-the-clay-cart/#commentsSat, 21 Jun 2008 00:00:41 +0000Karen D'Souzahttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=5386

â€The Clay Cart” Move over Shakespeare. The classics are getting multicultural in Ashland. New artistic director Bill Rauch expands the boundaries of OSF’s repertoire with this ancient Indian text, a story of corrupt kings, pious holy men and star-crossed lovers… Continue Reading →

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â€The Clay Cart''

Move over Shakespeare. The classics are getting multicultural in Ashland. New artistic director Bill Rauch expands the boundaries of OSF's repertoire with this ancient Indian text, a story of corrupt kings, pious holy men and star-crossed lovers attributed to King Sudraka. Rauch, who first directed this Sanskrit epic in 1992 in Los Angeles, lures the eye with opulence, bedecking the stage with Indian sculptures, silken saris and kaleidoscopic hanging lanterns. Sudraka's 2000-year-old parable of good and evil may lack the glorious language that Shakespeare junkies have come to crave but there is a sweeping sense of history and mythology to the play that delights the ear. The play also echoes Brecht's "Caucasian Chalk Circle'' in its allegory of Charudatta (Cristofer Jean) a man with a generous heart but empty pockets and his cherished courtesan Vasantasena (Miriam Laube). Tricks of fate, not to mention the king's malevolent brother in law (a shticky Brent Hinckley) conspire not only to divide the lovers but to steal their lives. A chain of misunderstandings and twists of serendipity ensue as the noble Brahmin seeks to restore harmony to not only his life but also to the whole kingdom. Sudraka's criticism of the caste system, the tendency of rulers to abuse their power and the ways the status quo beats down the common man calms us like a balm. There is something profoundly comforting in the knowledge that time and place and language shift but the themes and motifs are always the same.